In re Bonner’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

381 federal appellate · 87 district · 234 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 909 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “power to control and direct the form of judgment to be entered in cases brought up before it on habeas corpus,”

   15 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Breese v. United States · Bryant v. United States

2. ““Much complaint is made that persons are 'often discharged from arrest and imprisonment when their conviction, upon which such imprisonment was ordered, is perfectly correct; the excess of jurisdiction on the part of the court being in enlarging the punishment, or in enforcing it in a different mode or place than that provided by the law. * *- * Thg judges of all courts of record are magistrates, and their object should be, not to turn loose upon society persons who have been justly convicted of criminal offenses, but, where the punishment imposed, in the mode, extent, or place-of its execution, has exceeded the law, to have it corrected by calling the attention of the court to such excess. * * * “He [the prisoner] complains of the unlawfulness of his place of imprisonment. He is only entitled to relief from that unlawful feature, and that he would obtain if opportunity be given to that court for correction in that particular. * * * In a vast majority of cases the extent and mode and place of punishment may be corrected by the original court without a new trial, and the party punished as he should be, while relieved from any excess committed by the court, of which he complains. In such ease the original court would only set aside what it had no authority to do, and substitute directions required by the law to be done upon the conviction of the offender.””

   10 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. In re Welty · Ex parte Harlan

3. ““We are unable to agree with the learned counsel, but are of opinion that, in all cases where life or liberty is affected by its proceedings, the court must keep strictly within the limits of the law authorizing it to take jurisdiction, and to try the case, and to render judgment. It cannot pass beyond those limits, in any essential requirement in either stage of these proceedings; and its authority in those particulars is not to be enlarged by any mere inferences from the law, or doubtful construction of its terms.””

   7 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Post v. United States · Bowen v. Johnston